China plans to set up a co-ordinating mechanism to fight
terrorism - the first of its kind in the country.

The action comes among its 14 northern provinces and autonomous
regions.

Anti-terror officials at the provincial level attended a
conference on Friday in Huhhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region, to discuss the plan, according to a Xinhua
report.

With the increasing impact of international terrorism, China
must not underestimate the threat though no large-scale terror
attack has ever taken place in the country, Xinhua quoted an
unnamed official from the State anti-terrorism office as saying.

The mechanism aims to build an anti-terror defence with the
collaborative efforts of police, courts, prosecutors and
national security departments.

Trans-regional anti-terror maneuvres will be held regularly and
contingency plans drafted, said Li Wei, director of the
anti-terrorism research centre of the China Institute of
Contemporary International Relations.

Details of the mechanism, expected to cover other parts of the
country, have not yet been worked out.

"The establishment of the mechanism marks a step forward for
China's anti-terrorism work," Li said.

Considering the complexity of the fight against terrorism, no
country has set up a perfect anti-terrorism mechanism, Li noted.
"China should learn lessons from other countries, such as the
United States and Britain, in this regard." Trans-national
anti-terrorism mechanisms have been set up between China, Russia
and four other Central Asian countries under the framework of
the Shanghai Co-operation Organization to fight against
terrorism, separatism and extremism.